1. No need to worry about making your travel plans ahead of time- crowdsource them via social media on your way there! Yes, this little roadtrip of ours up North was pretty spontaneous. Meg and I were both rather bogged down with work during the week- but we were excited to look forward to heading out of town Friday, and we assumed we would figure it all out along the way. We had 6 hours in the car afterall, right? It was a race to the border. With all my performing friends, I figured several people have toured through Canada- so we asked for their recs! (And they were all awesome.)

2. Montreal is COLD in January. Like so. cold. We kept reminding ourselves that the rest of winter in NY would seem like a piece of cake after this weekend.

3. Good friends are the most valuable asset you can have. (she said, he said) In addition to our friends directing us where to go and what to eat, I had a friend connect me with her friend who went to college in MTL. Then this friend said her sister still lived there and said we could stay with her. Before we knew it- 6 hours later, we were meeting a group of people for dumplings in Montreal's Chinatown. (The perfect warm-up for the coldest weekend ever.) We got to stay in a beautiful apartment in Plateau with a lovely host- beating any other hostel or Air BNB options we were considering.

4. We can still barhop with the college kids. So this friend of a friend's sister we met up with (and crashed with) - to our surprise was still in college! We tried not to give away our age to much... and to our surprise kept up to the bar crawl. Again, it kept us warm :)

5. Drunk bagels replace drunk pizza. This is one of the most important lessons. Our host took us to the famous St Viateur bagel shop at the end of our night of drinking to get fresh 3am bagels. It's a similar satisfaction to grabbing a slice of pizza on the way home from a night out in NYC, but you get a few extra for breakfast in the morning. Montreal bagels are definitely a thing.

6. Hospitality inspires hospitality. Yes, our last-minute volunteer host was so lovely, we totally offered to host her and her friends when they come to NYC. Isn't that the best way to bread community? Welcoming someone into your home? (Take that Facebook.)

7. Sometimes not having a plan is a good thing. It allows you to follow locals' advice and not be so tied to expectations for what you're supposed to do in a certain place. (Note: Frida the Fiat is a fan of this.) Experiencing a new city through an open itinerary of choosing your own adventure versus a laundry list of what books and experts have told us to do is highly recommended.

8. Montreal is highly caffeinated. Cafe culture is cozy and everywhere. Lattes, lattes, and more lattes. They're another perfect indoor escape when the cold was too unbearable. Which, let's be serious, was every couple of blocks.

9. Eva B's is heaven. The most heavenly off all thrift stores. They hand you hot apple cider in shot glasses and popcorn when you enter, they have several floors of treasures to dig through, and they have a pretty amazing costume rental closet to play dress-up in in the basement.

10. POUTINE is deadly and amazing all at the same time. French fries covered in gravy, cheese curds, and usually an assortment of meat is kind of irresistible. I just don't know if my body could handle eating that regularly. There is always a line just to get into La Banquise...

11. Yes, it's true. Hockey is a thing in Canada. In every bar and cafe. When in Canada...

12. It is a challenge to eat anything but carbs and cheese. Our final meal before the roadtrip back to NYC was a desperate plea for something other than cheese and carbs. (Brunch at Le Cartet had a full delicious menu, but after 36 hours full of bagels, poutine, lattes, and more bagels, fruit was looking rather divine.)

13. Driving in the rain is best with 90s radio blasting. Refer to Pandora. Turn it up. And BELTTTT.

14. Roadtrips don't mean you stay in the car the whole time. The journey is the destination... Stretch yo legs!!

15. You can't really use the excuse of not having enough money to get out of town (or the country). Dusty passports are so lame.

notes:

- igloo fest is a thing. maybe next time?

- you can never bring too many layers of clothing to canada in the winter. i really don’t know how people survive there.

Sometimes NYC can feel restrictive. As though it is closing in on all sides and I am struggling to stay afloat. The energy of NYC is both a blessing and a curse. At its best, it is a motivating, creative force that provides constant inspiration. At its worst, it is a suffocating power where I feel like I can’t keep up. The things to do and places to be just can’t be conquered. It’s never-ending and it seems as though I am the only one lagging behind.

When the universe seems to be conspiring against me, I know it is time to escape and stretch my legs in another locale. So escape I did with the one-and-only Grace Freeman. Everyone should have a friend they can plan last minute, detail-less escapades with.

We left NYC on Friday with the grand destination of our neighbor up north with no plans of where to stay or what to do. We weren’t even sure where we were headed in Canada; it was a toss-up between Montreal and Quebec City. As we neared the border, we had an offer of a bed by a friend’s friend’s sister. That’s not a typo. There were three degrees of separation. Eight hours after leaving NYC, we were sitting at a table of new friends, sharing dumplings and stories across the table. There’s something beautiful about saying yes. It’s in the way in which it can instantaneously create community, especially when encountering the unfamiliar.

The weekend continued to be a scavenger hunt of sorts. Going from one locale to another based solely on the recommendations from folks we met along the way. An afternoon of playing dress-up in a thrift store led to poutine and hockey which led to hot chocolate and more hockey… because when in Canada, right?

To finish off the weekend, we headed to Old Montreal early Sunday morning. After filling our bellies at Le Cartet, we wandered around the cobblestone streets, taking in the last of the city's sights. By the way, Montreal has some amazing street art. I could spend a (warmer) weekend traversing the city blocks in search of graffiti.

While we may have only been in Montreal for less than 48 hours, it was the perfect excursion. By the time I was back in my apartment Sunday night, I felt rejuvenated from my weekend of new friends, cozy cafes, and thrift shop exploring. I think weekend trips may need to be a thing in 2015.

notes:

- in the winter, montreal is cold. it’s no joke. be prepared with all the warm clothing you own. i spent the weekend in my winter hiking boots. warmth > fashion. there's a reason why i look like a burly, bearded man in these pictures. don't be scared off though. it’s such a fun place to explore, even in the single digits.

- eva b is the just the coolest thrift store. ever. i mean they gave us shot glasses of hot apple cider and bags of popcorn as we walked in. also everyone there is just ridiculously friendly and helpful. to top it all off they have three floors of everything from 18th century costumes to children's books to dining room furniture.

- st. viateur bagels are delicious and their own category of bagel (don't go in expecting the an nyc bagel). if you find yourself out drinking into the early hours of the following morning, be sure to grab some on your way home.

- poutine = fries + gravy + cheese curds. as per recommendation, we ordered take-out from la banquise and ate it at a bar next door. doing this avoids waiting in line. outside. in the cold. take-out plus beer always wins.